IIT Madras Row: National Commission for Scheduled Castes hits out at management

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has hit out strongly on the ban imposed on the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle in IIT-Madras. The NCDC has also invited adding IIT Madras’ acting director Professor K. Ramamurthy as well as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) to discuss measures to resolve the issue.

“The incident that occurred at IIT-Madras, the way they deregistered the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle, and have been barred from carrying out any activities is shameful. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has intervened in matter and have received reports from the IIT Madras director and the HRD Ministry ,” NCSC chairman PL Punia told a news agency.

“We have called them for a discussion on June 8 to hear their side of the incident and to resolve matter,” he added.

The IIT Madras had recently banned the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle over an anonymous complaint to the central government that it was trying to spread hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies by distributing provocative pamphlets and posters in the campus, igniting a massive controversy. The IIT Madras management had later stated that the action taken was in accordance with the student group’s non-adherence towards the guidelines laid out by the institute.